Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Decreases Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 71.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 89,694 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in MetLife by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 572,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,876,000 after purchasing an additional 21,063 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 1,642 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,797,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its position in shares of MetLife by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 29,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,963,000 after acquiring an additional 8,393 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,126,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

MET stock opened at $71.90 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.95 and a 52 week high of $74.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). MetLife had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The business had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.07 billion. Analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 113.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on MET. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.23.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $289,469.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $289,469.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through six segments: Retirement and Income Solutions; Group Benefits; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.